The present invention is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No 09/683,605 entitled xe2x80x9cPost Collision Restraints Control Modulexe2x80x9d filed simultaneously herewith and incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates generally to automotive vehicle impact sensors, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for indicating that a vehicle impact sensor has been on a vehicle that has been involved in a collision.
Impact sensors are commonly used on vehicles for sensing an impact between an object and a vehicle of concern. Impact sensors relay a signal to a restraint system, which than activates a restraint device such as an air bag or a pretensioner to decrease the potential of an operator injury during the collision.
Currently, many vehicles have a restraints control module (RCM), which controls of the restraint systems in a vehicle. The RCM receives collision signals from the impact sensors and determines whether to activate a restraint. The RCM also keeps track of the number of times the vehicle has been in a collision.
A disadvantage with existing RCM systems is that they do not have knowledge as to whether an impact sensor has been in a collision. For example, an impact sensor may be removed from one vehicle and placed into a second vehicle. A RCM in the second vehicle has no way of knowing whether the replacement impact sensor was on a vehicle that has been in a collision. Although the RCM has knowledge of the number of times it has been on a vehicle that has been in an accident, this knowledge conveys nothing about the replacement impact sensor.
An impact sensor that has been on a vehicle that has been involved in a collision could have sustained undetectable damage. Although, the impact sensor may be capable of surviving a collision multiple times, the undetectable damage may cause the impact sensor to not operate as originally designed.
It would therefore be desirable to develop an improved post collision notification system that has knowledge as to whether an impact sensor has been on a vehicle that has been in a collision. This knowledge would allow an owner of a vehicle to have the impact sensor tested by a trained technician and replaced when necessary.
The foregoing and advantages thereof are provided by a method and apparatus for indicating that a vehicle impact sensor has been on a vehicle that has been involved in a collision. An impact sensor is provided including a counter electrically coupled to the impact sensor and storing an impact sensor collision number. The impact collision number represents whether the impact sensor has been on a vehicle that has been involved in a collision.
A method for indicating whether the impact sensor has been on a vehicle that has been involved in a collision is also provided. The method includes sensing a collision and generating a collision signal in response to the collision. An impact sensor collision number is incremented and indicated in response to the collision signal.
One of several advantages of the present invention is that in providing a method of determining whether an impact sensor has been on a vehicle that has been involved in a collision it also provides an improved technique to determine whether the impact sensor should be serviced for potential malfunctions, as to assure proper functioning.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it indicates to an operator or a controller the number of involved collisions even after the impact sensor has been translocated from one vehicle to another vehicle.
Furthermore the present invention in indicating the number of involved collisions allows a service center to determine whether the impact sensor should be replaced or not, depending on manufacturer specifications.
The present invention itself, together with attendant advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures.